Rangers lose again…yet building?

By Jon Gabrielle,  NY Rangers correspondent

 

 

For the second game in a row, the N.Y. Rangers were unable to score an even strength goal, and for the second game in row it cost them.

The Atlanta Thrashers winning 3-2 in a shootout, Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Their only two goals coming on the rejuvenated power play, tallying twice with the extra man for the second consecutive game. Unfortunately, for the second game in a row, they also gave up a shorthanded goal.

The sum total: back to back losses and losers in 7 out of their last 9 games.

Nonetheless, it was a kinder, gentler John Tortorella at the post game press conference.

In fact, I’m glad I had it on tape, because I certainly had to listen to it again.

The Rangers, since starting the season 7-1,  have now dropped 17 out of 24 games, all but wiping out any remnant of optimism leftover from an auspicious beginning.

Without calling the elias sports bureau, the Rangers have to be flirting with all time lows in 5 on 5 goals. Aside from the Columbus game, the team has now registered 20 even strength goals in their last 19 games played.

Staggering inefficiency.

Yet their head coach remains upbeat, sounding like a man who is very much in the middle of a long winning streak, as opposed to one reading the New York tabloids. 

Referring to his team, Tortorella said, “they played well…other than probably 6 or 7 minutes of the beginning of that second period, I thought we played really well…I had no complaints.”

And if that’s not enough to talk you off the ledge Ranger fan, he continued, “…in all facets of the game…there’s a lot of good things we can build off of…”

Naturally skeptical, the fans on Broadway may take a dimmer approach? Not to mention the Architect of this Ranger team, and Tortorella’s boss, Glen “Slats” Sather.

Currently tied for 11th place in the conference, and goals as hard to come by as a Tiger Woods appearance, the Rangers are on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in.

 Not exactly sure this is what the G.M. had in mind when he brought the former Stanley Cup winning coach to Manhattan.

With the recession in full swing and hitting the NHL, despite Mr. Bettman’s rhetoric, (25 teams have reported diminished earnings), teams are more likely to stand pat and play out their hands with the players in the room.

This means, for the most part, that these are the players the coach has got to work with. Any talk of a blockbuster deal…is more than likely, just that.

Just yesterday, G.M. Brian Lawton, of the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team mired in an 8 losses in 9 game slump, told the St. Pete Times, “I have complete confidence in the group.”

That may be code for…things are so bad, that I can’t even get Vinny’s old buddy, Tortorella, to nibble on his 85 million dollar contract? Good news if you’re trying to quell any rumor of Vinny Lecavalier rejoining his old linemate, Vaclav Prospal as well as his former coach.

In a recently taped segment  for a local t.v. station in Tampa, Lecavalier sat with Phil Esposito, Dave Andreychuk and Rick Tocchet to chat about the “art of scoring goals.”  You might say that Vincent fanned the flames of speculation when he intimated he had his best times scoring when paired with Vinny Prospal.

I thought Tocchet was going to jump over the table, drag him to the car…and drive him personally to New York!

Thirty-two games into his first full season as Ranger boss, John Tortorella is still looking and “building.”

Someone the coach is going to look towards is 23 year old, Brandon Dubinsky. The Alaskan native logged over 24 minutes of ice time in his return, having missed the last 13 games with a broken hand. And although he was held off the scoresheet, his coach was obviously happy to have him back.

The coach enthusiastically told a room full of reporters, “it’s good to have him back in the line-up…he gave us a lot of juice.”

In his first two seasons with the Blueshirts, Dubinsky has scored 14 and 13 goals respectively. Not exactly “Rocket” Richard numbers, but something the coach hopes to build on.

Some Other Articles That You May Enjoy:
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The New York Rangers Will Not Make the Playoffs
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It’s Crunch Time for the Pittsburgh Penguins
New York Rangers’ Alf Pike Passes Away
Capitals Fans Chant “Rangers Suck” as New York Takes 2-0 Series Lead

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